Chapter 193: Let’s Talk

Samuel Ford took a sip of tea and asked, "How did you and Mr. Sawyer meet, Dr. Vance?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he frowned. He remembered how Joshua had just called her ’Megan.’ The contrast made it obvious who was closer to her.

Amanda Vance, oblivious to his thoughts, replied casually, "We used to work part-time at the same shop. That’s how we met."

Hearing this, Samuel Ford was genuinely surprised. "Part-time work?"

’Joshua Sawyer?’

He could understand Amanda Vance working a job. Not only was Holly Vance unkind to her, but she was also extremely stingy. As far as he knew, Amanda had even earned her own college tuition. But he never expected that Joshua Sawyer would have worked a part-time job too.

’Even if the Sawyer family isn’t as wealthy as the Ford family, they’re still well-off. Did he really need to work his way through school?’

Seeing his reaction, Amanda Vance knew what he was thinking and chuckled. "Don’t be fooled by how well-behaved he looks now. He had his rebellious moments too."

Back then, he was fighting with his family, so he decided to become self-reliant. But he looked completely out of place doing manual labor and would get chewed out by the manager countless times a day. Luckily, Amanda Vance was there to help him with his work, which made things a little better.

Listening to her reminisce, Samuel Ford suddenly regretted asking the question. Whether it was Hayden Grant or Joshua Sawyer, they had both known her for many years longer than he had. He and Amanda had missed out on too much time.

At this thought, his heart sank.

Sensing the dip in his mood, Amanda Vance glanced at him, her smile fading slightly.

Feeling her gaze, Samuel Ford looked over, only to see she had already turned away to speak with Joshua Sawyer. He pressed his lips together, lowered his eyes, and toyed with his fingertips.

Joshua Sawyer, sitting across from them, took in both their reactions, hiding the confusion in his eyes by taking a sip of tea.

’Megan’s attitude toward this Samuel Ford fellow isn’t typical. She’s intentionally distant, yet she doesn’t seem to hate him. If she truly hated someone, she wouldn’t act like this at all.’

’But she is deliberately pushing him away. What’s going on?’

’Is there some hidden reason she can’t talk about?’

As he thought, his gaze drifted between the two of them, carrying an unintentional hint of scrutiny and inquiry.

Unfortunately, both were masters of concealment, and he couldn’t discern anything.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke up. "Megan, aside from your former classmates, I recently found a video circulating online. Do you want to do something about it?"

As he spoke, he took out his phone, found the video, and sent it to her.

The video was edited to show only Amanda’s segment, complete with subtitles. Its popularity had already shot into the top three, right behind two items about the entertainment industry.

It was the clip of the entertainment reporter who had posed as a patient to see Amanda. Her comment telling him to "get his head checked" had sparked heated debate among netizens, most of whom felt she had gone too far.

She was just asked a question, and she resorted to insults. Many people had already started cursing her out in the comments. Someone even came forward claiming to be a former classmate and shared some gossip, fanning the flames and keeping the topic trending.

Amanda Vance recognized it with a single glance and shook her head. "Don’t worry about it."

Joshua Sawyer gave her a surprised look. This wasn’t like her at all. ’Is she the type to let people bully her? The situation is still escalating, yet she isn’t trying to suppress the hype and is just going to let it run its course?’

Seeing his confusion, Amanda Vance thought for a moment before asking in return, "Do you think it can even be suppressed at this point?"

It’s not just about scrubbing the videos from the internet—that part is easy. But it was a livestream, so a lot of people already know about it. Sometimes, blindly suppressing something only makes people push back harder.

After a moment’s thought, Joshua Sawyer shook his head. As a lawyer, he understood the importance of public opinion all too well. It represented social influence.

"But are you sure you can control how this develops?" He was afraid that if she couldn’t turn the situation around later, it would become impossible to handle.

Amanda Vance wasn’t worried about that in the least. "I do have professional integrity."

It’s not like she was actually venting her anger by cursing out a patient. Since she had accepted his registration fee, she wouldn’t act recklessly.

Samuel Ford was the first to understand. A smile touched his lips. "It looks like Dr. Vance will be getting a follow-up patient."

Hearing this, Joshua Sawyer also had a moment of realization, though he still glanced at Samuel Ford with some doubt. ’He just trusts her that much?’

’It seems their relationship is even closer than I imagined.’

With their business concluded and the tea finished, Amanda Vance checked the time and said, "I should be getting back."

"I’ll drive you."

"I’ll drive you."

The two men spoke in unison, then met each other’s gaze before simultaneously looking away.

Samuel Ford said, "It’s on my way."

Joshua Sawyer said, "I need to learn the way."

Amanda Vance looked at them in amusement, dangling her car keys. "I drove."

As for learning the way...

"Next time you want to come, I’ll send you the address. You can just use your GPS to get here."

Both were rejected; neither got his wish. Strangely, this created a sense of frank acceptance between them.

Joshua Sawyer glanced at Samuel Ford out of the corner of his eye before saying to Amanda, "Alright then. Be careful on the road."

"Okay."

Amanda Vance turned to Samuel Ford and only then noticed how intently he was watching her. She was stunned for a few seconds before she came to her senses, blinking to avoid his gaze. "Goodbye, President Ford," she said with a smile.

After watching her for a moment, Samuel Ford finally gave a low grunt of acknowledgment. "Mm."

The two men watched her leave, then their eyes met again. Just as quickly, they looked away, a mutual animosity surfacing in their gazes once more.

"Not working overtime today, President Ford?"

"Mr. Sawyer seems to have plenty of free time himself."

"I’m not free at all. I specifically cleared my schedule today for Megan. We made these plans a long time ago."

Samuel Ford stared at him for a moment before saying flatly, "Well, Mr. Sawyer, you’re certainly responsible."

With the word "responsible," he framed the entire meeting as a professional duty.

The smiles on their faces tightened. Without another word, they both turned and walked away.

Sitting in his car, Samuel Ford replayed the scene with Amanda Vance in his mind. His hands on the steering wheel tightened. A moment later, he started the engine, turned the car around, and headed off in a new direction.

It was about time to make lunch when she got back. Amanda Vance parked her car and went to the supermarket near her entrance. She was wondering what to cook when a shadow suddenly fell over her. She froze for a second, then looked up. "President Ford?"

’It seems he always shows up when I least expect him.’

"Dr. Vance." Samuel Ford unconsciously rubbed his fingertips together. "Is now a good time to talk?"

Having a good idea of what he wanted to discuss, the smile on Amanda Vance’s face froze for an instant. She looked down, picked up a potato, and put it in a bag, feigning a casual tone. "Sure. What would you like to talk about, President Ford?"

Glancing at the people around them out of the corner of his eye, Samuel Ford pressed his lips together and remained silent. He lowered his gaze to the bag in her hand, then suddenly reached out and took out a tomato she had just placed inside.

An arm suddenly crossed her line of sight. Amanda Vance paused. Without looking up, she followed his hand with her eyes and suddenly fell silent.

He was holding an unripe, greenish tomato. She slapped a hand to her forehead, feeling a wave of defeat, and let her head droop. "Let’s go. We can talk outside."